Safe Haven
by The Phantom's Little Red
Summary: Sarah Pierce, initially kidnapped by Charles Lee Ray, thought she had to be strong and resenting towards her admirer, for the sake of herself, her daughter Barb and the baby growing inside of her. But as time passes, she realizes that her heart is telling her otherwise. Sarah Pierce/Charles Lee Ray from "Curse of Chucky". Warning: Contains spoilers from "Curse of Chucky" (2013)
1. Chapter 1

_**Safe Haven**_

Sarah knew she had a chance to run. Charles had left to pick up Barb from daycare, and her straps were left loose enough for her to slip her arms through. She had gotten progressively thinner, refusing to eat as much since the death of her husband. But she couldn't stop completely. The baby was due in just a few weeks, and as a mother she couldn't neglect that. Now that she was free, she had a choice to go for the door. Instead, her eyes remained on the sunflowers that Charles had set out for her.

They were a few days old, all of them, and they were beginning to wilt. Charles never chanced the vase water, and some of the bouquets had their water completely evaporated. Sarah stared around the room, feeling compelled to take care of them. She sighed slightly and stood, a hand on her stomach, and wandered around until she found a source of water. She took an empty vase and filled it with cold a little over halfway. Starting from the nearest corner, Sarah began watering the flowers. With just the smallest alteration, they seemed to reanimate a little. Sarah couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly, she heard the main door close lightly and tiny steps scrambled towards her. Sarah looked over and saw her daughter, smiling brightly with a lollipop in her hand. Barb ran over and hugged her mother around the legs tightly. Sarah smiled and pulled her arm around her daughter, not able to bend over and hug her back. She glanced over at Charles, who had just come behind her.

Sarah looked back at her daughter and smiled, "How was your day, love?"

"It was good, mama!" Barb replied, grinning.

"Where did you get such a thing?" Sarah asked gesturing to the lollipop.

"Mr. Charles got it for me on the way home!"

Sarah looked over at Charles, who nodded quietly and smiled at the little girl. Barb ran off into the other room, while Charles came over to Sarah. She saw him eye the vase she was holding.

"I...decided to water them," she said quietly. "They were looking pretty dry."

"Oh..." Charles replied, seeming slightly bewildered. "I was going to get you new ones."

Sarah looked down to try and hide a minimal smile. "Sometimes the old things are best when they can be taken care of."

Charles smiled and looked down at her, wondering how she slipped out of the bonds. It did hit him how thin she was getting, and he decided that he wouldn't allow her to do that to herself. He reached over and took the vase from her, setting it aside and lifting her chin.

"Let me take you to dinner," he persisted. "You and Barb. Us as a family."

Sarah gazed at him for a few minutes, passionately taking in the sincere gaze in his eyes. She was scared to let him be this close to her while she wasn't bound, not because of what _he _might do, but what _she _might do. Gripping Charles's hand lightly, she was tempted to blurt out a "No!" and to rip him away roughly. Sarah knew that's what she should do, but felt that something else in her had a different idea in mind.

"I'd... I mean, _we..._" she replied, feeling the corners of her lips curl up into a warm smile. "We would love that."

In that moment, Charles felt enlightened. He was always under the impression that she loved him as much as he loved her, but for the first time he felt it radiating towards him. Moving towards her, he attempted to place a kiss on her lips, but she shied away slightly. Sarah picked up the vase again and continued to water the flowers, trying hard to omit his gesture. Charles showed no sign of anger, but pushed past her lightly to go and find Barb.

Sarah waited until he left the room, setting the vase down quickly and placing her hand over her belly. She caught her breath and closed her eyes, while the baby moved under her hand. She had never felt her move so much, not like today. She tried of conceal how she felt about it, to keep Charles away from her. But she longed for someone to keep her company. It was only human, wasn't it?

From the corner of the door, Charles observed her and recognized her state. Even though it wasn't much, she was in pain. Coming out from the other room, he approached her quietly and wrapped his arms around her from behind. Sarah felt the warmth of his wool jacket curling around her, and almost melted into him. No longer able to fight the urge, she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I'm starving.." she murmured.

Charles smiled and ran his hand up her arm, "Then let's go to dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

Charles gently placed his hands around Sarah's neck and gripped the collar of her spring jacket, slipping it off of her shoulders. He reached down and took Barb's jacket as well, hanging both of them up on the hangers attached to the door.

"Dinner was wonderful, Charles," Sarah said quietly, fixing the strap of her dress. "Thank you."

Charles smiled slightly. "How do you feel?"

"So much better," she replied, turning to him. "It was a fantastic restaurant."

"I thought you might like it," he explained. "I remember you mentioning that you're craving Italian stuff..."

Sarah looked up at him and paused a little. "You remember something like that?"

"I...of course, Sarah. Why wouldn't I?" He reached down and took her hand. "Isn't this something relevant? Something I _should _know?"

"I mean, yes, I suppose? It's just... Daniel never remembered. I figured its not important."

Charles pulled a lock of her hair behind her ear and touched her cheek. "I'm not Daniel, Sarah... Don't you realize that? You are important to me! And I swear to it I'm not going to let you slip under my fingers." He caressed her cheek gently. "You know that."

Sarah opened her mouth to respond, but felt Barb tugging at her dress. She looked down at her daughter, and Charles's eyes followed.

"Mom..." Barb whined. "I'm tired..."

"I've gotcha," Charles said, lifting her into his arms. Barb giggled slightly while Sarah watched, secretly frightened. Barb buried her head into Charles's shoulder and he carried her off. Barb was content in the room he had made for her; it had a perfect view of the green backyard. Charles knew it was technically the neighbors' backyard and not his, but occasionally, he would take the girl outside to play on it while the owners were at work or out in town. Her bed was right near the window, where the moon shone through. Barb ran off into the bathroom and washed up, changing into her favorite flannel pajamas. Charles picked her up as she ran out of the room, placing her in bed and tucking her into the covers.

"Can you tell me a bedtime story, Charlie?"

Charles sat on the edge of her bed. "Charlie? Where'd you get that from?"

"Charlie sounds nicer than Chucky. Mommy said so too."

"Now did she really?"

Barb nodded her head. "Can you tell me a story?"

Charles smiled and nodded, turning on her nightstand lamp and closing her window blinds. Barb curled up in bed and clutched her covers, listening to his story. Little did she know, but he improvised completely; Charles felt that she couldn't hear any of his personal stories. She was full of innocence and wonder, and he couldn't rob her of that, not like how his father had robbed him.

He noticed that the poor girl had fallen asleep about seven minutes later. Charles gazed down upon her, reaching over and lightly stroking a bit of her hair. Leaning over reluctantly and nervously, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and reached over to turn off her bed lamp. As he pulled away, he felt comforted and more relaxed. Then, Charles stood and exited her room with utmost silence, as to not disturb her. Closing the door behind him, he let out a shallow sigh and a small smile crept onto his face.

In the other bedroom, Sarah stood in front of the vanity mirror, taking off her earrings after slipping back into her nightgown. She set the small ruby studs inside of the same box Charles had presented them in. She knew they were probably stolen or bought with dirty money, but it didn't seem to bother her as much as it used to. When she wore them to dinner, she felt like she was worth a million dollars. And every woman wanted to feel that way, at least once.

She reached over for the hairbrush and picked it up lightly, bringing it to her blonde hair and brushing it. In the back of the mirror she saw Charles come through the door, wearing a bathrobe and flannel pajamas. Sarah turned and looked at him, a little bewildered by his attire. She'd never seen him in anything but his long coat and gray suit, besides the red shirt he wore to the picnic before Daniel's death. She set her hairbrush and fixed her nightgown, just to keep her hands busy.

"You feeling alright?" He asked her, closing the bedroom door. Sarah nodded and slipped into bed. She didn't want to submit to him fully, but threw out small hints that she welcomed him to cuddle her freely, but Charles knew be didn't need an invitation. He slipped his bathrobe off and swiftly hung it onto the door rack, laying down between the sheets. Sarah buried herself into him gently and he wrapped his arms around her, shutting off the lights. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Charles?" she asked quietly. "Did you always think of...being a father?"

He looked down at her, puzzled. "Meaning?"

"Did you always want to be a father, to have a family?"

Charles paused, yet shook his head slowly. "Actually, Sarah... I didn't. I really didn't. There was a time where I couldn't even bring myself to look at the idea of me dealing with kids, let alone ones calling me 'Dad'."

"Really?" It bewildered her. "How come?"

He sighed lightly and looked away. "I was afraid of being like my father, Sarah."

"What was he like?"

"God, he was..." Charles tensed up slightly and Sarah heard his tone of voice roughen. "He was a cold hearted son-of-a-bitch. Had high ass standards, that hypocrite...all he ever was was a drunken bastard who couldn't even look at me and call me-"

He stopped sharply when he felt her touch his cheek.

"Sssh.." she said quickly. "It's okay Charles, it's over. That's over." He touched her hand. "I'm sorry for asking..." She said.

"No, it's alright. You had a right to know."

Sarah saw the small shame in his eyes, and she lifted herself slightly and placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight, Charles," she said smiling. Laying down, she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep. Charles watched her for a few minutes before returning the kiss on her cheek and falling asleep himself.


End file.
